Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
7 Democrats contending for seat
Race to replace Weekly draws 3 with experience
Seven Democratic candidates are running for the Clark County Commission in District D, the seat held since 2007 by term-limited Commissioner Lawrence Weekly, a former Las Vegas city councilman.
The district covers downtown and east Las Vegas, the Historic Westside and portions of North Las Vegas. The winner of the Democratic primary June 9 will advance to the general election in November.
With no Republican candidate on the ticket, three independent hopefuls will be waiting for the Democratic challenger: nonprofit director Henry Thorns, former Las Vegas Fire Chief David Washington and Stanley Washington.
The Democratic field features three experienced politicians in state Sen. Mo Denis, Assemblyman William McCurdy II and North Las Vegas Councilman Isaac Barron.
They are joined by Clark County public information administrator Tanya Flanagan, business consultant Dillard Scott, patent attorney Deepen Kothari and Clark County Public Works employee Jesus Carlos Moreno.
Moreno did not respond to requests for an interview about his candidacy by deadline.
Isaac Barron Age: Background:
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■ North Las Vegas City Councilman, Rancho High
50
School teacher
■ “We have to build for the future. We can’t be relying on the same old models again, again and again,” Barron said, adding that he sees the seat as an opportunity to diversify the district’s economy and apply the lessons he learned in helping rescue North Las Vegas from a financial crisis.
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Why run and why now?: Response to coronavirus crisis:
On the North Las Vegas City Council, Barron supported the city’s decision to fine landlords violating the statewide eviction moratorium, and he underscored that “it’s going to take a lot of creative short-term planning to make ends meet” during the pandemic.
But recalling how the city could not cut its way out of a budget hole during the Great Recession, he instead advocates for investing in new business and infrastructure to draw long-term jobs and growth in the district.
■ Barron said it’s a point of pride to have resided most of his life in the district, the son of a dishwasher and a maid, and he is banking on his experience helping North Las Vegas emerge from a financial emergency less than a decade ago to show he can repeat it in the district.
He said the city was able to achieve a turnaround by doing things such as speeding up development applications and inspections, clamping down on graffiti and revitalizing neighborhood parks.
Pitch to voters: Mo Denis Age: Background:
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■ Nevada senator, former Nevada assemblyman
■ Denis said he ran for the state Legislature to affect policy on important issues, particularly on education, and “now I feel like I need to focus more on local issues, one being homelessness.”
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Why run and why now?: Response to coronavirus crisis:
Having served as the Senate majority leader during a period when the state was still recovering from the Great Recession, “I understand that it’s not going to be easy,” Denis said. “First of all, nobody could have envisioned where we are today.”
■ “I think if you look when I talk about what I’m going to do on the county commission, anyone can look up what I’ve done in the Legislature, the things I’ve accomplished,” Denis said, adding that while his opponents had bright futures ahead of them, “our district can’t afford for someone to step in who’s going to take a while to get going.”
He said he wants to use relationships he has built as the most tenured legislator in the race to diversify the economy, ensure equal access to jobs, training and education, and confront homelessness with an emphasis on housing, health care and treatment for the mentally ill.
Pitch to voters: Tanya Flanagan Age: Background:
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■ Clark County public information administrator, acting executive director of Susan G. Komen Nevada, former Review-Journal reporter, former candidate for North Las Vegas City Council
■ “The call to action kept pulling on me,” Flanagan said, naming access to quality health care as the key issue of her platform. “I’ve always done the work. It’s an opportunity to do the work in a new capacity.”
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Why run and why now?: Response to coronavirus crisis:
Flanagan said she is in two briefings daily about county efforts to set up alternative care centers to supplement hospitals in the event of overcrowding and to feed people
COMMISSION D 21